obviously no way to prove it was the honey but there are a couple instances in that thread where honey is the likely source of infection - i just think it's inaccurate to say it's impossible or won't happen as opposed to very unlikely esp if using raw/unpasteurized honey

Pasteurization is the process of killing spoiling bacteria with heat. The higher the heat, the shorter the time you need to keep the product at that temperature. Boiling is not necessary, but it's quicker.

There is a curve referred to as the pasteurization curve. Here's the curve I go by. I think the curve changes with different products, but it's a good start.

OK, so I brewed up a batch of the White House Honey Porter and thought I&rsquo;d give a review:

Appearance &ndash; At first pour there was a lot of lively bubbling and a thick head but after a very short time it went completely flat. There was some residual bubble head but it was scattered and not coherent.

I expected a better color balance between the light malt extract and the darker grains but the brew color is definitely on the dark side. I&rsquo;m sure that will appeal to some people.

Aroma &ndash; Very strong scent of Wright and Ayers hops which is very typical of the bitter Chicago-style brews. There is some masking of this bitterness with the use of government honey and Hawaiian flavors but the odor seems somewhat rotten as if something wasn&rsquo;t quite right..

Taste &ndash; Despite the hype and expense there is very little taste. In addition to being flat and tasteless it is also very weak. Overall the flavor just doesn&rsquo;t work.

When I contacted the White House they said that all my problems with this beer were due to the effects of the last batch I brewed (a Busch-clone). They also said I should try again and let the brew condition for 4 years to ensure full success.

I brewed an all-grain conversion of this on Sep 2nd. Today I needed space in my _fermentator_ (I love that video) so I had to move it to a secondary Better Bottle. I didn't taste it, but there was a healthy 3/4 in. of yeast on the bottom. Also, it smelled fairly sweet and malty, and the gravity was at 1.008 (OG was 1.065). There was still a eighth inch of krausen on there. I had pitched two packets of yeast. Beersmith tells me 7.5% ABV, . It has a deep red brown hue.
I bottle, so in a week or two I'll let you all know how the sample is. I'm really hoping the honey dries it out, and that the IBV is strong enough to balance it out. Maybe the yeast can eek out a little more ABV, and perhaps the sweetness will balance out the heat from that.

A friend and I brewed an all-grain version of the Honey Ale this morning. Honey sourced from hives approximately a mile from the White House (nice thing about living locally). Fermentation is in his hands. We'll see how it turns out.

pretty standard extract recipes with honey added. Nothing exactly amazing or shocking about it. Hopefully now that the recipes are released everyone can calm down. Though i expect a lot of politically charged commentary to pop up.

Edit: The first political comment came while i was reading the thread and then typing.